whenever the virus makes its annual visit I usually display flu symptoms for a day or two, then I'm on the mend. It's never kept me home from work, or sent me to the doctor's office.
My company cultures different strains of things for medical use and growing vaccines, etc, so for us, it is fairly well mandatory (although they can't tell us it is mandatory).
I felt the same way as sprkplug for a long, long time, i never had a flu shot in my early years, and then, while writing my thesis @ 23, holy, crazy, bouncy balls did i get the flu.
Day 1, not so bad, just like any other flu ive ever gotten. day 2...yeah, this sucks, nose plugged up, sinuses hurt, some stomach issues, shaking and shivering all the time, but hey, i've had a fever before, no biggie. day 3....uuuhhh.....am i dead? is this real life? i didnt know things could spontaneously eject themselves from EVERY hole in my body at once, sweating while freezing and head hurt so bad i couldn't turn on the lights, couldn't keep down water or crackers, had to hydrate myself by sucking on ice cubes so i would just get a trickle at a time to absorb into my stomach lining, waking up with my sheets & pillow soaking wet with persperation, and even though i haven't eaten anything, needing to use the john once every 20 minutes, ...day 4....dehydrated, half asleep on theraflu, i stumbled into the campus dr's office. the thing that stuck with me for life after that misery...."you didn't get a flu shot, did you....well, that ought to learn 'ya." It took 3 or 4 more days to feel better, with another trip to the dr to hydrate via IV, since i couldn't hold down water.
yeah, even before i got my current job, i would never go a year without a flu shot again. i've had some weird maladies in my life, and that experience was as bad, if not worse, than the majority of them, including norovirus, rotovirus, food poisoning and having my foot opened up for surgery.
however....it is not my, nor anyone else's job (exceptions made for doctors and wives, of course) to tell you which medications you must take. I just hope that you do, cuz seriously, you dont want that. if you've never had to deal with that level of flu, im glad for you, because it is pure misery.
thanks, sorry for the length of the story
skinny
